


All These Cracks Till I Break

by camichats



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Break Up, Character Study, Gen, Klaus Hargreeves Needs Help, Post-Break Up, Pre-Canon, Pseudo-Incest, References to Drugs, Time Skips, Unhappy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27453889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camichats/pseuds/camichats
Summary: Diego and Klaus break up, but Diego always shows up to bail him out of jail when he gets picked up. It takes a while, but he reaches his breaking point.
Relationships: Diego Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves
Kudos: 18





	All These Cracks Till I Break

**Author's Note:**

> So this is tagged as Diego/Klaus because they talk about their relationship during this and it's a big focus here, but this is NOT a happy fic for them. They break up in the first scene and never get back together.

"You need to choose," Diego said. He had one hand tight in Klaus's, and the other around the bottle he'd just taken from him. 

"Very well, I choose watermelon flavored. Lemon is more popular, but there's something about watermelon, like it'll take you right back to that summer when you were at the beach- not that we ever went to the beach, but that's how it tastes, you know?" 

Diego's hand tightened. He had to loosen his grip a little or risk hurting Klaus. "This is serious. J-just be serious for two seconds. I'm- I'm not going to be with you if you're trying to get high all the time. I'll help you through it, if that's what you need." Diego swallowed. "But I'm not going to stand here and watch you ruin yourself. I won't do it. So you have to choose. It's me or drugs." 

Klaus rolled his eyes. The only thing he'd had tonight was alcohol, and Diego had (mistakenly) thought it would make him easier to talk to about this. "You're giving me an ultimatum? Seriously, Number Two? That's more Luther's style than yours." 

Diego felt like the bottle was going to shatter in his hand even though he knew he wasn't strong enough for that to happen. Like Klaus had just pointed out, he wasn't Luther. "You think I'm happy about this?" He'd told Klaus a hundred times that he didn't like seeing him like this. He'd tried being distracting, and that worked, but it could only ever work for a little bit at a time; Klaus was more bored than Diego could be distracting. He'd tried getting rid of his drugs when he found them, but all it really did was make Klaus mad at him. "I don't want to force you to do this. I'm just trying to help." 

"Perfect little Diego, taking care of us all," Klaus said, patting his cheek with his free hand. "You're like the new Mom-- if anything ever happened to Mom, that is. Don't worry Diego, one day you'll grow up to be a big boy with kids of your own to make smiley face pancakes for." Then Klaus's hand dropped down and took the bottle from him. Looking straight at Diego, he unscrewed the lid with quick, practiced jerks of his thumb and let it fall to the floor with a bouncing clink. He took a sip, then smiled widely. "Nice knowing you, brother." 

Diego's hand released his numbly. Klaus didn't have to tug on his hand before he let go; he didn't try to keep him in place. He'd made his choice. 

It felt like that time he'd gotten a boot to the solar plexus. 

He'd thought that Klaus would choose him.

* * *

His phone started to ring, and he answered it with a grumpy, "Diego." 

"It's Eudora. Are you busy?" 

Diego looked over at his alarm clock and spent one full second feeling very sorry for himself. He'd gotten back from patrol less than an hour ago, and laid down _maybe_ twenty minutes after. But if Eudora was calling him in the middle of the goddamn night, it was important. Maybe she was finally taking him up on his offer to help her when her precious rule book wouldn't get the job done. "What's up?" 

"Normally I wouldn't call you-" 

"It's fine." 

"-but we've got someone here in lockup, and he mentioned you. Rather, he mentioned his good friend Diego that likes knives, and I figured it was you." 

"I'm not friends with criminals, Eudora," Diego said dryly. And if he's not dead, it means he didn't come head to head with Diego. "He's talking out his ass; you should ignore him." 

"He's not a criminal, he's a junkie-- arrested for public intoxication this time, but not all the times before, going by his file. I summarized for you, but the person he described sounds a hell of a lot like you. He talks a lot, and the last thing you need is someone else connecting the dots." 

A junkie, public intoxication, and talking about Diego. Fucking hell, if that was Klaus, he was going to be pissed. He sighed heavily, then said, "I'll be right there." 

He didn't go anywhere without his knives, so taking them off entirely wasn't an option. He took off the harness though and pulled on a jacket. That would be good enough. Besides, Eudora had seen him in far worse, and if it _was_ Klaus there, so had he. This late, it didn't take very long to get to the police station, and everyone there was used to him walking around so no one stopped him as he made his way to her desk. 

She looked up at him when he hovered near her desk. Her eyes flickered down, clearly taking note of the lack of his 'vigilante costume' as she called it. "Thanks for dressing down." 

Diego grunted in reply. 

"And thanks for coming by. I know you didn't want to, but I really do think this guy knows you." She got to her feet, and Diego followed her, the path to the lockup a well worn one. 

"I hope he doesn't," Diego muttered. Unfortunately, when she opened the door and the sound from inside the cells was available to his ears, Klaus's voice was rather distinct. The cells weren't visible yet, but he knew Klaus's voice as well as anyone's. Besides, the amused rambling of someone taking better care of their heels was right up his alley. "Shit," he said. 

"Friend of yours?" Eudora said, raising an eyebrow. 

He grunted again. He strode forward. "Klaus?" 

"Aw, it's Diego!" Klaus raised a hand in greeting, where a still-healing tattoo said 'hello' on his palm, and he looked towards someone else. "I mentioned him, didn't I?" 

"You did," a woman in another cell said. Based on her outfit and overdone makeup, Diego would say that she had gotten picked up for solicitation. "But honey, maybe you should pick someone who wears a color other than black." 

"Yeah, but then he'd have to change clothes every time he killed someone and that sounds like a lot of work. Have to dress for the occasion and all that. Too much work considering everything else he does." 

Yeeaah, Diego needed for Klaus to stop that line of conversation before he got thrown in there alongside him. Diego rolled his eyes where Eudora could see, and hopefully she'd write it off as drunken rambling or an inside joke or something. Klaus was slurring a bit, and the fact that she'd only mentioned public intoxication implied that she hadn't noticed he was on something in addition to alcohol. That was good news. Getting him out would be more than he could handle if he'd had the hard stuff on him. "Can you get him out of there?" Diego asked. 

"That depends." 

"On?" 

"If he can pay the fine he incurred for this, or if we need to sign him up for one of the alternatives. Community service, you know how it is." 

Fucking figured. Community service sounded like a great way to get Klaus thrown back in jail for causing problems. Causing problems while _on_ community service looked a lot worse to a judge than in any other situation. "How much is the fine?" 

"I'd have to double check." 

Diego was way too tired for this. He rubbed at his temple, but it did nothing to get rid of the headache that had sprouted there. "Great. Can you let him out and then we talk about it?" 

Eudora raised an eyebrow at him, looking curious and a little amused. "Is there a reason I can't talk to him about it?" 

Because it was doubtful that Klaus had any money with which to pay a fine, and Diego had a pretty good idea of how much he'd be able to force Klaus to do. "I'll take responsibility for him." 

She looked at Klaus, who smiled, then back to Diego. "Okay." She unhooked the keys from where they were hung up by the door and opened the door. "Let's go figure out the details." 

"Have a nice night, everyone," Klaus said, waving with the hand that didn't have 'hello' tattooed on it. He pointed at the prostitute he'd been talking to. "You-- you're perfect, don't change." 

She laughed. "Bye Klaus, see you around." 

The fine was at a minimum since Klaus hadn't been violent or otherwise disturbing anyone. All he'd really done was talk too loudly and too much, and he would've done that even when he was sober. Diego paid it off, bought Klaus dinner, and Klaus vanished into the night. Diego had started a lecture-- and he knew that it was a lecture the moment he got one word out, and he knew that Klaus would hate it, but he couldn't make himself stop-- and Klaus had decided that he didn't want to deal with that; he'd left. Walked off with barely a goodbye. 

That was the other tattoo: goodbye. Hello on one hand, goodbye on the other. Diego wondered where the hell he'd gotten the money for that, and who the fuck he'd talked into giving him tattoos on his palms. Getting one on the back of your hand was hard enough, but the palm? Getting that to heal without an infection while he was living on the street seemed impossible. 

That was the first time Diego got called to pick up Klaus, but it wasn't the last. 

* * *

"Diego," he said into his phone in lieu of 'hello'. 

"It's Eudora." 

"Aren't you on shift?" They had the occasional social call these days, but never when she was working. To be fair, it was less 'social' call and more 'sexual' call but whatever. He actually had a friend that he'd kept all on his own, and not just someone that had gotten stuck with him during the academy. Eudora was a real life friend that he had, and he wasn't sure that the rest of his family could say the same. So, y'know, add another point in Diego's win column. 

"Yeah," she said, a touch dryly. "Look, your buddy Klaus is here again. Did you want to come pick him up? Minimum fine again." 

"Yeah. Thanks for calling me, I'll be right there." He hurried there, not wanting to make Klaus stay there longer than he had to. It's not like Klaus hadn't gotten into trouble before, but it felt more official now that they were both out of the house. They were all screwed up from living with Dad for as long as they did, but he didn't want Klaus to get himself in trouble Diego couldn't get him out of. 

* * *

"Diego." 

"It's Eudora. Klaus got arrested again. You want to come get him?" 

Diego clenched his jaw so he didn't let out an aggravated sigh. Eudora was doing him a favor by calling him; she didn't need his shit. Besides, he was annoyed with Klaus, not her. "Possession again?" 

"Yeah. Same stuff as last time. The fine's pretty, uh, sizable. You might want to see if you can get him in rehab, otherwise this will just be a visit." 

"Got it. Thanks, Eudora." 

"Anytime." 

He got there, already aware in his mind that he was going to have to convince Klaus to go to rehab. Somehow. Klaus had already made it clear-- again and again and again a dozen times over-- that he wasn't going to stop. Diego had never asked him flat out to get sober and stay that way, not after what happened last time, but Klaus said things every once in a while. Reminders. Little hints for Diego to not push it or he wouldn't see him again. 

Seeing Klaus do this shit to himself was bad enough, but it would be worse if he had no idea what was going on. Like it or not, Diego needed to be close by or he'd lose track of Klaus altogether. Family was family. He kept an eye on Luther by checking the news. As the last Umbrella Academy member, it was easy to find articles about what him and Dad were up to. Allison had starred in her first movie, and she was now the 'it' girl of Hollywood-- whatever that meant; Diego didn't really know, but that's the phrase that all the sites used. Vanya was part of an orchestra, and her name was tucked away in the list of violinists for every performance. It left Klaus as the only person that was hard to find since he the only trail he left were arrest records. 

"I've been wondering," Eudora said as they waited for Klaus to get his personal effects returned to him, "how do you two know each other?" 

Diego opened his mouth to say 'brothers', but Klaus said, in an overly cheerful voice, "I'm his boyfriend! Well, ex-boyfriend, because he doesn't know how to just relax and have a good time but," he ended the sentence with a shrug. 

Diego glared at him. 

Eudora already knew that he liked men-- his eyes wandered when he was drunk, okay?-- but her expression had gone from mild curiosity to shock. "Seriously?" 

Diego punched him in the shoulder. "You should've said brothers." 

"Brothers?" Eudora repeated. 

"People ask less questions that way," Diego growled. Not to mention that brothers was more accurate. They'd been dating for a total of three years-- four on the absolute outside, if you included the halting kisses and sneaking out that they'd done before admitting what it was they were doing-- but they'd been brothers their entire lives. Telling people that they used to date would only confuse them. 

"Aw, but where's the fun in that? See?" he said in a stage whisper to Eudora, pointing at Diego expressively. "No fun. It's why we broke up. It's probably why you broke up with him too." 

* * *

"Diego." 

"You know," Eudora said, "I think I'm getting as tired of making these phone calls as you are of receiving them." 

Diego thumped his head forward on his steering wheel. He was in the middle of patrol, and he didn't need this. There was no telling who would get hurt because he had to drop everything to go bail Klaus out again. He'd gotten a bit of a reprieve while Klaus was in rehab, at least in the middle of the night. During the day, he'd made a couple calls to make sure that Klaus was still there, that he was doing okay, et cetera. "Yeah." 

"It's possession again. More than last time. I can release him into your custody, but he has a court date; I can't get around that. He has to show up or you'll be in deep shit." 

"Yeah," Diego said again. He almost didn't say it, but he tacked on, "Thanks," at the end. She didn't need for his bad mood to be taken out on her; it wasn't her fault. 

"No problem. I know it's your life, but are you sure you want to keep doing this? He's an ex, and it's not like he's trying very hard to get better." A short pause. "You don't owe him anything." 

"I'll be there soon," was all he said. She thought that she knew what was going on, but she didn't know even half of it. It didn't help that Klaus had gone and told her that they used to date, not that they were brothers. Ex-boyfriends were people you didn't owe shit. That wasn't the same for family. 

* * *

"Diego!" Klaus said, sounding awfully cheerful despite the fact that he'd been arrested. Diego _knew_ that he'd been arrested because that was the only time Klaus called him-- when he wasn't in rehab, that is. Klaus claimed that rehab was boring, and he cut up the time by calling Diego and saying all sorts of weird shit to him. Whatever popped into his head, as far as Diego could tell. "Hi hun! Soooo, funny story, I got arrested again. But the good news is that you're hearing it from me and not your friend, Botch. Or... Batch? I remember thinking about cookies, but that might not have been her name, I might've just been thinking about cookies at the time. Shit, do you remember her name?" he asked someone else in the room with him. 

"Patch?" Diego offered. 

"Yeah, her! The pretty one. Although I have to say, I didn't really think she was your type. I always pegged you more for people who are fucking disasters, and she seems pretty put together. I was going somewhere with this. Aw man, Ben? Do you remember why I called?" A pause. "Right! I'm in jail. Can you come get me? Pretty please? Pretty because, of course, I am pretty. Not that the please is pretty. As your favorite person that still lives? _No_ , you don't fucking count; that's why I said person that's still alive. Will you come get me, Diego? Love you forever?" 

Diego had no idea if Klaus was actually talking to Ben, another ghost, or if he was just being weird. There was no telling with Klaus. He wasn't sure he cared. He was tired of this. He couldn't sign up for a fight these days without wondering if he'd miss a call from the station while he was in the ring. Klaus would be fine for another couple hours in his cell even if Diego missed it, but he was _tired_. "I'll be there. Hang tight and try not to get in a fight with anyone." 

* * *

"Hey Diego," Klaus said over the phone, sounding subdued. 

"You get arrested again?" 

"Yeah." 

Diego sighed. "You want me to come get you?" 

"Yeah." 

"I'll be there in a minute." Diego hung up and hated that he was happy Klaus was in the middle of coming down; he was the easiest to deal with when he was neither high nor in the middle of trying to find his next hit. 

* * *

"Diego," he answered, holding the mop still in his hand. He couldn't get shit clean if he only used one arm, and Al was liable to actually throw him out if he stopped being able to get the place clean. 

"It's Eudora," she said, and she sounded more nervous than she usually did. Hell, maybe she sounded normal and he just wanted for something to be wrong because it had been a while since he'd heard from her-- breaking up hadn't done their friendship any favors-- and this would be a not-awkward excuse to see each other again. 

"I take it this isn't a social call," he said flatly. 

"No. It's your- um, friend. Klaus." 

"You normally aren't this hesitant to tell me when he fucks up. Spit it out, Patch." 

"He got picked up for solicitation." 

Diego thumped his head into the mop handle. Fucking figured. This wasn't altogether surprising, but he'd sort of gotten to thinking that if he didn't hear Klaus say something about it, then it wasn't going to happen. He may not have done well at the police academy, but there were certain details he'd paid attention to. Anything to do with drugs had fallen into that category since he'd been worried about Klaus. When addicts couldn't afford their drugs by other means, selling sex was an off-the-books way of getting cash-- or, depending on the drug dealer, getting it straight from them. He'd kind of hoped that Klaus would know better than to start that, because once he started, it was going to be real fucking hard to stop. Was he being safe? Of course not. He was probably out there letting people fuck him without a condom, and then he was going to have to deal with an STI on top of all his drug shit. "Please tell me it's not the kind of solicitation that I'm thinking." 

"Unless you're thinking of someone handing out leaflets, that's a no-can-do." 

He grit his teeth together. Klaus was such a goddamn idiot. "I'll be there soon," he growled. 

"It's not going to be an easy fix," she reminded him. 

"I fucking know," he snapped, then hung up angrily. He should've been nicer to her for calling him and giving him a heads-up, but he was pissed off. Seriously, prostitution? People got killed for that shit if they said the wrong thing, and Klaus was always mouthing off. Klaus could barely look after himself when he _wasn't_ actively seeking trouble. He was going to get knocked around for sure, and that's if he didn't piss someone off too badly. Piss them off too much and Eudora would be calling him about a fucking corpse. 

He stopped on the way in and got Patch a coffee as an apology. "Thanks for calling me," he mumbled, setting it down in front of her. He didn't look at her as he said it, but after this long, she knew what he meant by it. 

"No problem," she said. He was forgiven. She took a sip, and they talked logistics. The charges, bail, what would go on his record. All the paperwork bullshit that he hated. Rehab was the best option, but Diego couldn't afford the good shit that they'd need for it to actually work. He had a plan for that, and he hated it even while he knew that he was going to do it. "Still," Eudora was saying, "any rehab is better than none at all. If you want to go ahead and call them, it'll look better for his hearing to know that he already has it set up." 

"Give me a second," Diego said, pulling out his phone. 

"When I said call them, I meant after you visit him and have your usual conversation." 

He shook his head. "I'm not calling the rehab facility, I'm calling someone about some money." 

"I know you care about him, but I don't think going into debt over this is a good decision." 

"I'm not going into debt," he said, pulling up Allison in his contacts. "She's a friend. She says no, and I'll do the usual song and dance. Be back in a minute." He walked to a hallway he knew was rarely used and hit call. It rang for a long minute, and he wouldn't be surprised if she let it ring off the hook. She was famous now, after all. He wouldn't be surprised if she had to screen all her phonecalls. Even if she knew that it was him though, there was no guarantee that she'd answer or call him back. It's not like the two of them were close, especially recently. He'd seen her at her wedding a couple years ago, but he'd started a fight with Luther while he was there (Dad, their superhero destiny, the usual bullshit), and she'd been pissed. 

"Hello?" 

"Hey." He paused for a second, trying to shake off the surprise that she'd actually answered. "It's Diego." 

"Oh," she said, sounding as surprised as he felt. "Hey. How have you been?" 

"Normal vigilante shtick. Punching bad guys, saving lives. How about you and your husband? I saw in a magazine that you're pregnant, yeah?" 

"Yeah. Patrick's good. Um, five months in, now." 

"I've heard morning sickness is a bitch." 

"I wouldn't know, no morning sickness for me. Some of the women in my Lamaze class have told me that every pregnancy is different, so. I'm just hoping that she comes out normal, you know?" 

"Yeah." 

"But it looks good so far. No abnormalities or anything." 

"That's good." 

A pause, where the silence extended, putting more space between them than the miles of physical distance. "No offense Diego," Allison said, voice quieter than before, "but why are you calling? You're not exactly the type to call and chat just because." 

And now the awkward part. Damn it. He worked alone in large part because he didn't know how to ask for help. He took a deep breath. This wasn't for him; it was for Klaus. "I wanted to ask you for a favor." 

"What kind of favor?" 

"Will you hear me out before hanging up?" 

"Sure," she agreed slowly. "Is it a money thing?" Out of all of them, she was the only one that A. had money and B. would be most likely to give it. 

"Yes, but not in the way you're thinking. Klaus got arrested, and-" 

"You need bail?" she guessed. 

"No, I've got that taken care of. Rehab. There's one that I think stands a chance of getting him clean and making him stay that way, but it's expensive. I don't need you to send me the money. But, y'know. If you'd send them a check or something, that would help." Diego leaned against the wall as she processed that. "You don't have to. There are cheaper options that I can cover." 

"When do you need an answer by?" 

"That depends on why you need time." 

"I want to look at the place. See if it's the best thing for Klaus, or if there's something better. I want him clean too, Diego. If you give me a couple days and let me pick the place, I'll pay for it." 

He let out a relieved breath. "By Thursday. He's got a court date on Friday, and it looks good if he's already got a plan." 

"Okay. I'll... call you, I guess." 

"Cool." 

"It was nice catching up with you." 

"You too," he said. Then, "Allison?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Thanks." 

Another pause, and he could perfectly imagine the way she was smiling when she said, "He's my brother too." 

They both hung up, but Diego stayed where he was for a minute. Family. They were a fucked up bunch, but if they all had one thing in common, it was that they cared about their family. Different ways, varying types, but they cared. Allison was just more obvious about it. 

* * *

"You're so fucking stupid, you know that?" Diego spit as he stormed to the car. 

Klaus followed, looking for all the world like he wasn't in a hurry. Unfortunately, he was right; Diego wasn't about to leave him here just so he could get himself arrested again. "I think I've been told that once or twice. Mostly by Dad, but y'know, you've always given off Daddy vibes. This isn't quite the context I thought we'd get into it, but hey, whatever works." 

Diego slammed the door when he got into the car, and it felt like Klaus closed his door softly on purpose, just to piss him off further. "Allison paid for that fucking rehab for you and she didn't have to, and you're acting like it doesn't mean anything! You haven't gotten better; you're up to the same old bullshit that you _always_ are! Do you even want help?" 

"No," Klaus said with a smirk. "I don't. You insist on giving it even though I tell you every time that it's pointless. A little glue isn't going to fix a broken bone. You should leave the bone alone to get high without the judgey face." 

* * *

"This is it. This is the last time I'm picking you up. Don't call me again." 

"I wouldn't have called you the first time, but you'd already gotten into the habit of picking me up," Klaus said, lolling his head towards Diego in a lazy grin. He was still high. It was Klaus, so he'd remember all of this, but he was high. 

"Don't worry, I'll stop that too." 

"Good!" he said cheerfully. If it was anyone else, it would sound passive aggressive, or maybe a normal amount of aggressive before a fight, but Klaus just... said it. Meant it a decent amount. 

Diego hated it, but it wasn't his problem anymore. 

None of it would be. 


End file.
